


Here There Be Kaiju

by merriman



Category: Pacific Rim (Movies), Star Trek: The Original Series
Genre: A Hole in Space, Alternate Universe - Fusion, Crossovers & Fandom Fusions, Drift Compatibility, Gen, Kaiju in Space, Training Exercises Gone Wrong
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-10-12
Updated: 2017-10-12
Packaged: 2019-01-06 12:43:54
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 6,834
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/12211545
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/merriman/pseuds/merriman
Summary: The Enterprise is getting some brand new technology to test out, courtesy of Commander Caitlin Lightcap and Lieutenant Mako Mori. Of course the testing can't possibly go without a monster-sized interruption.





	Here There Be Kaiju

**Author's Note:**

  * For [rosecake](https://archiveofourown.org/users/rosecake/gifts).



> Thank you to my two wonderful betas and to Rosecake for requesting this! It was a ton of fun to write.

"I have gossip," Janice said as she took a seat with Sulu and Chekhov in the rec room. 

"If it's about Ensign Bradley, we know," Chekhov told her. "He disembarked already."

"No, everyone knows he asked for a transfer, and good luck to him," Janice said, dismissing that with a wave of her hand. "I mean why we're out here at a podunk little base in the middle of nowhere in the first place."

Chekhov and Sulu both sat up for that. Everyone had been wondering and the senior officers had all been more tight-lipped than usual. They'd all assumed Uhura knew more than she was letting on, but that was part of her job as communications. She had to be counted on to keep her mouth shut. Janice, on the other hand, was under no such strictures.

"I was in Sick Bay and there were two technicians from the base, installing some sort of machine. Doctor McCoy wasn't there so I thought why not ask, right?"

"Right," Sulu agreed.

"They said they couldn't tell me much, but that it's from Starfleet and it's something new and experimental."

"In Sick Bay?" Chekhov asked, frowning. He leaned his elbows on the table, deep in thought. "What could they have been doing in the Sick Bay that would need us all the way out here. This is the Siberia of space, you know."

"Pretty sure Siberia is the outer space of Russia," Sulu told him. 

"Anyhow, I thought I'd let you guys know. Looks like it's something medical. They might well finish installing it and send us back on our way."

While they all considered that possibility - unlikely as it was - the rec room door slid open and Lt. Uhura walked in, accompanied by another young woman in red with an Engineering badge, who definitely wasn't a member of the Enterprise crew.

Janice spotted them first and waved them over. 

"Nyota! Who's this?" she asked, standing up to greet the stranger.

"Mako, these are some of my friends," Uhura said. "Yeoman Rand, Ensign Chekhov, Lieutenant Sulu. This is my old roommate from the Academy, Lieutenant Mako Mori. She's been doing research out here."

Lt. Mori bowed her head to each of them in turn.

"It is very nice to meet you all," she told them softly. "I hope you will all take part in the upcoming tests."

"We haven't made an announcement yet," Uhura told them. "But there are going to be test runs of Mako's newest technology. Her whole team's coming aboard for it."

"Well. That certainly outdoes my tidbit from Sick Bay," Janice laughed. "It's great to meet you, Lieutenant. I hope your tests go well."

"Thank you," Mako said as she and Uhura took seats at the table. "After all that I have been told about your crew, I believe everything will go very well."

Sulu glanced over at Uhura and cocked his head just a bit. Chekhov followed the look and grinned.

"So," Chekhov said. "Can you tell us anything? We won't spread it around!" Never mind that there were about six other crewmembers in the rec room at the time, three seated right at the next table over. 

Uhura shook her head. "Of course not. Behave, Ensign."

"Lieutenant Mori, please report to Sick Bay," came the unmistakeable voice of Captain Kirk.

"My apologies," Mako said, standing up to leave. "I will see you all when the testing commences."

When she had gone, Sulu, Chekhov, and Janice all turned to look at Uhura.

"Spill," Janice told her. "What is all this about? Did you know she was out here before we got here? You can tell us that, at least, can't you?"

Uhura shook her head. "Fine. Yes, I knew she was out here, but not until recently. It's not easy," she admitted. "Sending messages all the way out here still takes forever to relay. She was always building things when we were cadets. I could have sworn she got snapped up by some engineering team working out of Alaska back on Earth. Then I got a message from her a few months ago."

"Who did she offend, to be sent all the way out here?" Sulu asked.

"No one," Uhura told him, leveling a glare in his direction. "She requested it." She relaxed a little and leaned both forearms on the table. "At least that's what she told me. Something about the project she's working on needing the room."

"Well, much as I'd like to know more, I'm on duty now," Sulu told them before standing. "A little patience wouldn't hurt any of us. We'll find out soon enough."

"You're quite right, Mr. Sulu," Uhura agreed, standing as well. "See you all later."

*******

It was, in point of fact, not even a full 24 hours before the entire crew was informed of what the mysterious tests were. The next morning the captain's voice came over the intercom with an announcement for everyone aboard.

"Starfleet has given us the honor of testing a new piece of equipment, meant to assist in the running of ship operations. We've been informed that all crewmembers, regardless of specialty or rank, should be tested for aptitude with the new equipment. Please see Dr. McCoy and our guest, Lieutenant Mako Mori for testing."

All in all, it raised more questions than it answered. All crewmembers should be tested? Science, engineering, security? Everyone? It was all anyone was talking about the next day. When Sulu and Chekov got off duty and went down to Sick Bay to see about the testing they found no one less than the captain of the ship sitting down for testing. Nurse Chapel and Lt. Mori were fitting a web of wires and sensors over his head. A second set of wires and sensors sat on an empty seat to the captain's left.

To the crewmembers observing, it didn't look like much was happening. The captain closed his eyes as Lt. Mori adjusted some settings on the terminal in front of her. He seemed to be seeing something, as if he was dreaming, then he opened his eyes and blinked a few times while Lt. Mori tapped away at the terminal and nodded. 

"This is very good, Captain," she told him. "Would you like to know if you have any potential matches?"

Nurse Chapel was helping Captain Kirk remove the sensors. Captain Kirk glanced at Lt. Mori without moving his head. "Let's keep that between us, Lieutenant," he said. "Please send the results to my quarters."

With the apparatus removed, the captain stood and nodded to the observing crewmembers. Doctor McCoy was keeping an eye on things while working on his charts and the captain stopped to speak quietly to him before leaving.

Waiting in front of Sulu and Chekhov were two science officers who'd come on board a month back. 

"You are sisters?" Lt. Mori asked as the first one stepped up and she checked her notes. Both women nodded and she motioned for the second one to step up as well. "We will test you together." 

The two women sat down and waited while the apparatus was set up for both of them, then closed their eyes as the test began. It was immediately different from the captain's test. One woman opened her eyes as the other seemed to be seeing something like the captain had. The first woman closed her eyes again, shifting a little, but this time her sister opened hers and shifted the same way but a few beats behind. 

Lt. Mori sighed and ended the test, letting both women open their eyes and relax.

"Sometimes it simply does not work," she told them. "I am sorry, but we do have your data on record now. Perhaps you will have matches among the rest of the crew. Or other crews."

The sisters let Lt. Mori and Nurse Chapel take the wires off them, then headed out of Sick Bay, muttering to each other about what they'd seen.

With them gone it was time for Sulu to sit down. He nodded to Lt. Mori, then looked back at Chekhov. "Can we request to test with someone else?" he asked. "Ensign Chekhov and I have been working together for some time now."

"It is not just a matter of being friends with someone," Lt. Mori told them. "It is a compatibility most will not share with anyone else. We are testing to determine possible compatibility among the crew. Do not be disappointed or ashamed if this does not work."

But she hadn't said no, and she was looking at Chekov and nodding to him, so he stepped up and sat down in the seat to Sulu's left.

With the wires and sensors in place, Lt. Mori started the test and suddenly Sulu couldn't just see Ensign Chekhov, he _knew_ him. He wasn't just at his side, he was right there, in his head. He could hear Russian and more to the point, he understood it. 

_Is that Japanese?_ he thought. Except that wasn't his thought. It was Chekhov's. But in his head.

In the other seat, Chekhov was suddenly aware that he knew how to fence. Or rather, he didn't, but he could have. He reached out one arm, hand poised to grip a foil, and felt his arm and Sulu's move together. 

And then it was gone and Lt. Mori was beaming at them both.

"Very good!" she told them. "Lieutenant Sulu, Ensign Chekhov, you are the first official pair of drift compatible officers on board. Congratulations!"

"Thank you?" Sulu said, still a little dazed by the loss of the connection between himself and Chekhov. "But what does that mean?"

"We will discuss this later," she told him, suddenly all business. "I must inform the captain and my team on the station."

*******

Word spread quickly among the crew. Sulu and Chekhov found themselves peppered with questions from other crewmembers who wanted to know how they'd done it, what it had been like, whether they thought they could do it again, what it all meant.

"We don't know," Chekhov said to the first one.

"Indescribable," Sulu said to the second.

"Hopefully," they said together to the third one.

"You'll have to ask Lt. Mori," they told anyone who asked them the last. By the time they sat down in the mess later that day they'd both discussed simply taking their food to one of their quarters to avoid any more interrogation. When Janice and Uhura showed up, however, they both leveled looks at everyone around them and the questions seemed to disappear.

"How did you do?" Chekhov asked Janice, who shrugged.

"I don't know. Lt. Mori told me I might have a match, but maybe not. If I don't it's fine. Who knows what it's even for?" Janice smiled at them. "Not you two, I'd guess! You got the brass ring and you don't even know what to do with it."

"I know Mako was very pleased," Uhura told them. "She told me after I got tested."

"Any match for you?" Sulu asked her. "Perhaps one with pointed ears?"

"Didn't you hear?" Janice asked. "He said he didn't think Vulcan logic would allow for a match with anyone on board. Apparently his brain's just too different."

They all sat with that for a bit. Clearly, the tables around them had heard it too as it spread through the mess. 

"Doctor McCoy got tested," Uhura added after a few moments. "He did it last. Said he might as well, for science."

"He probably wanted to show up Commander Spock too," Janice noted. "Who knows. They'd probably end up being compatible. Wouldn't that be a hoot!"

*******

By the next morning the word around the ship was that there were two official matches and a few potential matches but when Chekov and Sulu reported to Sick Bay, the only others there were two hulking security officers, twins who'd been with the ship for a year. They stood at attention while Sulu and Chekhov tried saying things to each other in their respective languages, just to see if they understood.

They all turned to look as the door swished open and Captain Kirk walked in, followed by Lt. Mori and another stranger, this time a blonde woman in a red uniform. 

"Gentlemen, thank you for joining us," Captain Kirk said to the four assembled junior officers. "Ensigns Gage and Gage, Ensign Chekhov, Lieutenant Sulu. We've been asked by Starfleet to assist Commander Lightcap here and Lieutenant Mori with their work. Please give them your utmost respect."

With that, the captain moved back to lean against a bulkhead and observe while Commander Lightcap stepped up.

"Ensigns, Lieutenant, thank you. We're very excited to have two compatible pairs in one crew. It's really quite astounding. Our research had suggested that we might find a single compatible pair in 500 people. With a crew of 430 we had thought to perhaps be able to find two people who could be trained to work together. It appears we won't have to go to those lengths, though of course we may do that in the future if there's interest," she trailed off as Lt. Mori coughed softly behind her.

"But you'll want to know what this is all about!" Commander Lightcap continued, seemingly back on track now. "Our team has been working on a technological breakthrough that will allow starships such as the Enterprise to be more maneuverable and respond to threats and emergencies more efficiently. Right now, you're limited by the controls you have and your response time. We've developed a way for you to control the ship with your minds. The navigation, the maneuvering, along with the weapons system. Unfortunately, it's all too much for a single person to control, so we had to find a way for two people to work towards the same goal."

Commander Lightcap paused, smiling at them.

"This is where you all come in," Lt. Mori added from behind her. "Our tests were to find pairs who could join minds through a link we call the drift. Through this link, you will be able to control the ship's systems with much more finesse than you would normally."

"Right!" Commander Lightcap nodded. "So we've been refitting the pons apparatus at each of your stations. We'll be running some tests out here in the next few days. Simulations of attacks. It's one reason we're so far out here. We shouldn't have anyone coming through and getting in the way while we work out the kinks."

"If this works, I've been informed that other ships will get the same new equipment," Captain Kirk added. "The USS Eureka and USS Coyote are following us in. Admiral Pentecost himself is backing the project, so let's try and make it work."

"We'd like you to come over to the station for some additional training," Commander Lightcap told them. "Just a couple of days while we work on the hardware."

"Yes, ma'am," the Gage twins said in unison, followed by Chekhov and Sulu. 

"With your permission, Captain?" Commander Lightcap said, turning to Kirk.

Captain Kirk nodded his assent. "Permission granted, Commander. I'm sure you'll take good care of my crew."

*******

Uhura had been granted permission to visit the station after her shift and had gone straight to her old friend's quarters. Mako came to the door with a smile for her and quickly let her in.

"Thank you for visiting," she said, showing Uhura into her rooms. "I hoped you would have time."

"Of course I have time," Uhura told her before wrapping her in a tight hug. "It's so good to see you! I wasn't going to miss a chance to spend some time off the ship and catch up."

"I am afraid there is not much to tell you about except for my work," Mako said as she brought tea over to a table and Uhura sat down.

"Then tell me about that. I've only had a couple of messages from you since you left Earth. What happened in Alaska?"

Mako poured tea for them both, then took a seat across from Uhura and looked down at her cup. "Alaska was very difficult," she began. "The others all believed I had not earned my place, that my father had put in a word for me."

Uhura shook her head as Mako continued.

"He had not, but they believed it and would not listen to my ideas. And it was true that he did not want me serving on a starship, but he did not get me that post!"

"Of course not!" Uhura assured her. "But then you left?"

"Commander Lightcap was looking for an assistant on her new project and she heard about what I had been working on and asked me to accompany her. It has been very lonely out here, but we have been able to focus on our work. It was inspired by the Vulcans, you know."

Uhura sipped her tea and thought for a while. Mako also sipped her tea. They had passed many evenings like this at the Academy, considering solutions to various situations and problems.

"But you do like it?" Uhura said finally. "It seems to me this was a good solution. Alaska didn't suit you anyhow."

Mako smiled. "No, it did not. It was too cold all the time."

"Then I'm glad you're here," Uhura said, nodding. "I can't wait to see all of your work in action."

*******

Back on the Enterprise, the installation of the new equipment was going well and the technicians had finished with the additions to the helm. Captain Kirk went over to check on it, then turned to look at his first officer.

"Mr. Spock," he said, holding up one of the headsets. "I hear you weren't tested."

Spock nodded. "Indeed, Captain. While it would have likely been a fascinating experience, I did not see the point of it."

"Oh? Even for the sake of scientific exploration?"

Spock inclined his head in admission of Kirk's argument. "While that might prove to be true in the future, at the moment the project is merely in pursuit of pairs that can work together. Given my experience using a Vulcan mind meld on a human, I believe there would be no match for me. Our minds simply are not meant to work together."

Kirk regarded him silently for a moment, then shrugged. "If you say so, Spock. I'm not so sure. This isn't a Vulcan mind meld. It was really quite unlike anything I've ever felt."

Spock just nodded and turned back to his station. Kirk smiled and returned to his seat just as Doctor McCoy walked onto the bridge.

"Jim, I swear if I didn't know better, I'd say this was impossible," he said, walking over to the captain and showing him a chart. "This is the last scan Commander Lightcap sent over from the station. Now, the Gages have always been a little uncanny. I still can't tell 'em apart unless I've got their charts in front of me. But now?" He held up the chart. "Look at this! They're damn near impossible to separate! They're thinking like one person with these nets on their heads."

"That is the point, Bones," Kirk said, laughing. "You did the test. You know how it works."

"I did the test, sure," McCoy said. "But I can't say I know how it works. Not anywhere near."

"You did receive the briefing the captain and I received, correct, Doctor?" Spock asked, turning to look at him.

"Of course I did," McCoy grumbled. "But it's a whole lot of engineering mixed together with neuroscience and neuropsychology, and those just aren't my specialties. It'd take me and Scotty a week to work through it all together."

"Perhaps you should ask Lieutenant Mori if you and Mr. Scott are compatible. It might go faster if you work on it while linked," Spock suggested before turning to his station again, leaving McCoy to scowl in consternation.

*******

It took an extra day to get all of the systems set up just right. There weren't just the headsets at the helm, which had been the easy part. They had to determine the best placement for the Gages, who would be controlling the ship's weaponry. Having them on the bridge would have made sense, but would have necessitated moving other essential systems off the bridge. Neither of the phaser banks had any convenient spot to put two people and anyone observing them. Eventually it had been decided that the auxiliary control room would work best. And of course then they'd needed to connect everything so it would all work in concert.

Throughout the work done on the ship both Sulu and Chekhov and the Gages had been on the station, doing what Lt. Mori called "compatibility training." They'd been given exercises to work on and a direct order to spend as much time together as possible. Sulu had taken the opportunity of the station's gym to try and teach Chekhov as much about fencing as he could. The Gages had surprised everyone by showing off some rather unexpected dance skills.

When everything was ready and the two pairs were back on board the Enterprise, Commander Lightcap informed them all they'd be running a few simulations to test the equipment and the officers.

"We need to be certain that it all works before we try anything but the most basic moves," she told Captain Kirk from the station. 

Kirk nodded. "Of course," he agreed. "Just let us know what to do."

"We'll be using drones to lead you in different directions, and then to fire your weapons," she told him. "Is everything ready?"

Lt. Mori had been checking the last connections on the bridge and nodded to Commander Lightcap. "Yes, Commander," she said as she stepped away to take up a station near Uhura's where she could monitor the tests. Uhura had patched in the channel from auxiliary engineering and from there came the voice of one of the technicians they'd brought with them.

"Everything's ready from down here, Commander."

"Very good, Mr. Choi. Let's begin."

Ahead of the ship, two small drones launched from the station. Seated at the helm but with no hands on the controls, Sulu and Chekhov powered up the ship's impulse engines and started her moving.

"Response is three times faster, Commander," Lt. Mori announced. 

The drones ahead of them split apart and the ship followed one, while from auxiliary engineering the Gages engaged the other drone in the opposite direction as it fired harmless mock phasers at the ship. 

"Weapon response faster by two seconds," came Ensign Choi's voice over the channel. "Drone destroyed."

Another drone launched from the station as the ship fired on the one they'd been following, then rapidly changed course to track the new one. Eventually the responses became fast enough that Commander Lightcap was launching multiple drones at a time, or one after another in close succession. The drones had kept them relatively close to the station, always pulling them back towards it to start the next run, until one seemed to go astray.

"We've lost contact with drone 16 alpha, Commander" came a voice from somewhere to Commander Lightcap's side. "Disengage?"

"Negative," Commander Lightcap said. "Let's see if they can take it out so we don't have to go retrieve it later. They're set to stop when they're too far from the station, but let's not test that if we don't have to."

"On it," Sulu and Chekhov said at the same time as the ship turned and headed off in the direction of the stray drone.

"Captain, the drone is speeding up," Spock reported from his station as the ship sped to match it. 

"What would make it speed up?" Uhura asked. 

"It shouldn't," Commander Lightcap told them.

"Instruments show a weak gravitational field ahead, Captain," Spock said.

"Then it's being pulled. Any idea what could be causing it?" Kirk asked. "And are we in range yet?"

"No, sir," said the Gages from the intercom. "We'll take it out as soon as we are."

"Closing," Sulu said. 

"In range in 3… 2…" Chekhov was cut off by a sudden burst of energy from just in front of the drone. On the viewscreen they could see the burst fade and a crackle of blue lightning form. The drone was gone, but where it had been headed was now a mass of electric blue and a swirl of some sort of gas that was escaping from a rift in space. 

"Is that a wormhole?" Kirk asked, getting up from his seat to move closer to the viewscreen even as they felt the pull when Sulu and Chekhov changed course to come about as they slowed. 

"It does not match any known wormhole we have on file," Spock told him after a moment to check. "We have observed other phenomena, but nothing that matches exactly."

"Captain?" Sulu asked from his seat. "Should we turn back or investigate?"

Kirk looked at the image on the screen and frowned. "We should investigate. If anything could cause problems during these tests we need to know about it."

"I agree, Captain," Commander Lightcap said. "Please send us your findings and let us know when you're on your way back. Commander Lightcap out."

The electrical discharge from the anomaly ahead of them was growing stronger, or larger at least. Kirk went back to his seat and regarded it for a moment. 

"Mr. Spock, opinions?"

Spock looked up from his viewer. "It appears to be some sort of spatial breach, and it also appears to be growing."

"Back us off a bit," Kirk told Sulu and Chekhov. He'd barely finished the first word before the ship was moving. "Let's keep an eye on it. Can we launch a probe?"

"Launching," Spock said. 

On screen the probe headed right for the breach, only to explode on contact with what appeared to be an enormous arm that had just reached out from the center of the anomaly.

"Mr. Spock, are you seeing what I'm seeing?" Kirk asked, as the arm was followed by another, and then a gigantic head that glowed blue in pits along its sides. The creature that emerged from the anomaly was almost shark-like in its appearance, bullet-headed and thick through the torso, but with stubby arms that ended in glowing blue wells. The glow intensified and suddenly the creature surged forward out of the breach. As it passed through, the anomaly shrank and closed.

"Mr. Sulu, Mr. Chekhov!" Kirk called out as the ship turned and started away from the creature. "Shields up! Weapons ready!" 

The creature was on their tail now and closing fast. A burst of blue energy came at them from its mouth, visible on the screen. It hit the ship, rocking it even with the shields. Chekhov pitched forward, hitting his head on his console. Sulu cried out as the ship slowed. 

"Mr. Sulu, we need to keep moving!" Kirk commanded. Sulu didn't respond. He was staring towards the screen, but something about him was off, as if he wasn't seeing what was in front of him. "Lieutenant, get me Commander Lightcap," Kirk ordered Uhura as he got out of his seat and went to try and rouse Sulu. "And get me a medic up here now!"

Spock and Lt. Mori were already kneeling by Chekhov, who appeared to be knocked out.

"If one partner is unconscious, it is impossible for a single mind to control the ship's systems," Lt. Mori told the captain. "The sudden loss of a partner's consciousness can cause the other partner to freeze up, as if they are also unconscious."

Kirk frowned and waved in front of Sulu's face, then patted his cheek. "Can we disconnect them from the ship?" he asked.

"We can, yes," she said, nodding. "They should both be monitored. But that will leave the ship disabled!"

Kirk looked at Sulu, then Chekhov.

"Take it off Ensign Chekhov. I'll see if I can reconnect with Mr. Sulu."

"But your results said…" Lt. Mori started, then stopped at a glare from the captain. She and Spock quickly worked the headset off of Chekhov and helped the captain to put it on. Lt. Mori went to her station and tried to initiate the link.

Sulu groaned, then seemed to come to just for a moment, before also passing out.

"You cannot simply drift with just anyone," Lt. Mori explained.

On the viewscreen the creature was drawing closer. The energy burst that it had sent out seemed to have been a one-time deal, but the ship's weapons weren't in range yet to return fire. Soon it would be close enough, but then it would also likely be able to attack them.

Spock was removing the headset from Sulu as medics arrived on the bridge and started to take care of both Sulu and Chekhov.

"Captain, if I may," he said, placing the headset on his own head.

"I thought you said you wouldn't be able to link to a human mind," Kirk said as Lt. Mori hurried over to make the necessary adjustments for Spock.

"If anyone on this ship is capable of matching your thought process, I believe it would be me," Spock told him. "We have, after all, known each other for quite some time. I can attempt to control my thoughts to match yours."

Lt. Mori set the last connection in place and went to try the link again. This time there was no cry from either Kirk or Spock. Nothing at all happened right away, then the engines powered up and the ship started to pick up speed again.

"We need to draw it away from the station," Kirk said as they maneuvered the ship around.

"I can't reach the station," Uhura told them. "We've lost the channel down to auxiliary control as well."

"I propose we take control of the ship's weapons," Spock said. "Lacking a clear channel to communicate between us and our weapons team, we need to be able to control everything from here."

"Is that even possible?" Uhura asked.

Lt. Mori was looking at the data from her station and frowned. "It should not be," she said. "But it appears that Commander Spock might be capable of taking on the additional load needed."

"Do it, Spock," Kirk told him. "We need to be able to fire as fast as we're moving."

"It is already done," Spock said from his side. 

The creature was still chasing them, but the Enterprise was now speeding through space ahead of it. Spock had the phasers firing random pulses at it, hits making dull grey spots appear on its pale blue hide. 

"We need more than that," Kirk said. "We're going to need the torpedos."

"Phasers would be a better option," Spock countered, and without any further discussion Kirk was nodding, apparently having seen in Spock's mind his reasoning. 

"I have analyzed the creature for weak spots," Lt. Mori said, having moved to Spock's station to use his controls. "The blue wells on the arms and two more at its rear appear to be where its propulsion comes from. They would be good targets for the phasers."

"Except they're facing behind it," Uhura pointed out. "How can we hit them if they're facing the other way to propel it forward?"

Apparently in response to her question, the ship lurched, making a sharp dive and turn at the same time, to come about at the creature's side. As they did the phasers fired, hitting one of the wells on the creature's left arm. The creature's mouth opened in a mute howl and it thrashed a bit, twisting as well as it could to come after them in the new direction.

"Not as maneuverable as it looks," Uhura commented. "Or maybe that's because we hurt it?"

"The mouth and shape of the torso appear to be built for disabling and ramming," Lt. Mori said. "I believe if we can disable its propulsion, we can render it largely unable to harm us."

"Lieutenant Uhura, have you been able to reach the station?" Kirk asked as the Enterprise dove again, this time aiming to hit the rear of the creature. 

"Not really, sir," Uhura told him. "I have been able to send some data back but I can't seem to patch them through to hold a conversation." She gripped her seat tightly as the ship swung around again. "I did issue a ship-wide alert. All non-essential crew should be safe in their quarters."

"Good," Kirk said as the ship fired. They didn't hit every time, but two made contact with spots that made the creature writhe in pain.

"We're too close," Spock commented as the ship turned again. They'd been working closer and closer to the station and now headed back out away from it. "There should be two more ships coming in but they cannot get here sooner than four hours at top speed."

"So it's up to us," Kirk said, nodding. "Let's take this thing out." 

Both of the creature's arms seemed to be injured now, no longer actively adding to its forward motion. It was moving slower, opening and closing its mouth over and over in the view from the rear of the ship. 

"Captain, we are seeing increased energy output from the creature's head," Lt. Mori said. "It might be attempting to power up its main weapon."

The creature on the viewscreen was visibly brighter at the head than it had been just a moment before and it was squarely behind the Enterprise. The ship veered to one side, then the other, attempting to shake it off, but it stayed with them, tracking it while the glow intensified. 

"Uhura, if you can open a ship-wide channel," Kirk said.

"Channel open, Captain!" Uhura told him. "I don't know if it's going to get through on all decks, but it's all we have."

"All crew, brace for a hard bank," Kirk called out. "And yes, Spock, I know we're testing the limits of the ship's integrity. I can see the calculations you're doing in that mechanical head of yours. This is the only chance we have."

Lt. Mori and Uhura braced themselves as the ship started to turn, almost pivoting in place. The entire ship screeched in protest of the movement and for just a moment it seemed like maybe they had gone too far, pushed too hard, that the stress was too much for the hull. But then they were facing the creature head on as it barreled towards them. As they drew closer it opened its mouth wide just as it had at the beginning. Right as it appeared to be about to send another blue blast their way, the phasers fired on full, directly down its throat. The glow dimmed, then disappeared, only to light up again further back in the creature's body. A blast rocked it from inside, the tough hide of the creature containing most of it. Some of the blast escaped through the creature's gaping mouth, but Kirk and Spock were already climbing above it, moving the ship out of the line of fire to watch as the blue glow faded to nothing. 

They waited for a few moments, all watching the creature's body on the screen. When it did nothing more than sit there, suspended in place, Captain Kirk let out a breath in relief.

"Well. How's that for a test, Lieutenant Mori?" he asked, looking over at her. 

"That was quite a bit more than we had planned, Captain," she told him. "Will you and Commander Spock be able to navigate us back to the station?"

"I believe so, yes, Lieutenant," Spock told her. "We should have this creature collected for research, and the location of the breach it appeared through marked for monitoring."

"The breach coordinates have been noted and sent to the station," Uhura told him. "I've updated that with these coordinates as well."

"Very good," Kirk said. "Come on, Spock. Let's get back there so we can fill them in. I had no idea you were such a creative navigator."

*******

Repairs to the ship were going to take a little while. They'd sustained damage from the creature's first attack, but then there was also the stress put on the ship from the chase itself. Minor structural issues could become major structural issues very quickly. The other two ships arrived at the station, allowing for the retrieval of the dead creature and the monitoring of where the breach had appeared. Testing continued, repairs were underway, research was being conducted, and Sulu and Chekhov were both finally out of Sick Bay two days later.

"Kaiju," Lt. Mori was saying as they joined her, Uhura, and Janice at a table in recreation room three.

"Is that what we are calling it?" Chekhov asked.

"No argument here," Sulu muttered. "It was definitely some sort of monster."

"There is no record of anything like it in any of our databanks," Lt. Mori told them. "Commander Lightcap says they have sent a request to the Vulcans to confirm that it is entirely new to them as well, but as far as we are concerned, it is a new form of life, possibly entering our universe from another entirely."

This clearly unsettled everyone present, both at their table and at the tables around them.

"Still, we did succeed," Lt. Mori continued. "Which should please us all."

"Even if we didn't get a chance to do much?" Sulu asked, glancing over at Chekhov.

Lt. Mori turned to them and nodded. "Of course. Your tests were quite successful and you had no reason to expect an attack of that nature. If Captain Kirk agrees, you could continue testing together."

Sulu and Chekhov looked at each other and nodded. 

"We should," Sulu said.

"What is the protocol?" Chekhov asked, looking around at everyone at the table. "Isn't it possible that the captain and Commander Spock will want to take over for us?"

"Anything's possible," Janice told them as she stood. "Who knows? Maybe someone on the Eureka or the Coyote will be compatible with me and I'll be piloting a ship while you're all watching them fly."

*******

"So what was it really like?" Bones asked, perching himself on the edge of Kirk's desk in his quarters. "Could you hear what he was thinking? Is he really as staid as he acts?"

Kirk sat down and leaned back, considering the question. It took a while before he answered, which was clearly taxing Bones' patience.

"You're not going to tell me, are you," Bones muttered, shaking his head.

"It's very personal," Kirk said. He grinned at the scowl Bones shot him. "And besides, it's not all mine to talk about. Half of the experience is Mr. Spock's. How would you feel if he asked me about drifting with you?"

"Well we haven't and he wouldn't," Bones snapped. 

"Precisely," Kirk agreed. "I will say this: He's a very deep man, our Mr. Spock. If I had to hazard a guess, he was trying to protect the rest of us by abstaining from testing. There's a lot going on in there and we were too busy for me to look too close."

"Huh." Bones sighed and stood up. "I suppose I'll just have to live with that. You two planning on putting on that sort of show again?"

Kirk shook his head and stood as well. "I don't think so. Hopefully we won't have to."

"Speaking of which, I should get back to Sick Bay. We've still got a few crewmembers who got knocked around during that chase you led us on." Bones went over to the door, then stopped as it opened to reveal Mr. Spock, standing just outside apparently having arrived at that very moment.

"Doctor," Spock said.

Bones glanced back at Kirk, then smiled as Spock stepped aside for him to leave. "Mr. Spock. That was some fancy flying. Full of surprises, hmm?" he said as he walked by. "I'll talk to you later, Jim."

When Bones was gone, Spock nodded to Kirk. "Might I come in, Captain?" he asked.

"Of course, Spock."

Spock walked in and let the door close behind him. He went to the middle of the room and turned to look at Kirk. 

"I believe it would be best if we left the piloting of the ship to Lieutenant Sulu and Ensign Chekhov," Spock said, hands clasped behind his back. "Further, I believe it would be best if we did not attempt to drift again unless it is an emergency."

Kirk nodded. "Of course, Spock. I was going to suggest the same thing." He smirked just a tiny bit and added "It wouldn't do to show up the junior officers too much, would it."

Spock regarded him, expressionless, then allowed the barest movement to suggest a smile might be hiding there somewhere. "No, Jim. It wouldn't do at all."


End file.
